MASTERCLASS
Faye Perriam-Reed shows how sweater sleeves can be adapted with thumbholes to give you cosy, integrated wristwarmers!
Add thumbholes to sleeves
I LOVE THUMBHOLES in sweater sleeves. My hands often feel cold, and there’s something so cosy about being able to snuggle up in a jumper with integrated wristwarmers! Adding a thumbhole to a pattern is easy, and can be worked into top-down or cuff-up sleeves. First decide how long you’d like the wristwarmer to be, by measuring from the end of your wrist to somewhere around or after your knuckles.
The wristwarmer is just an extension of the sleeve, so you won’t need to adapt the pattern in any way - just work a continuation of the sleeve. It’s up to you whether you begin the cuff ribbing where stated in pattern, or whether you make the wristwarmer a continuation of the main sleeve pattern. Depending on the direction the sleeve is worked in, there are a couple of options here.
TOP DOWN SLEEVE
Work the sleeve as normal until you reach just past the end of your wrist, then continue straight in pattern for the length of the desired wristwarmer. If the sleeve is worked in the round, work the extra section in rows for approximately 5-6cm, before rejoining into the round until it measures the desired extra length.
CUFF UP SLEEVE
Cast on the number of stitches required for your sleeve and work to the desired wristwarmer length from knuckle to thumb opening without shaping, working in rows instead of rounds for 5-6cm for the thumbhole if your pattern is seamless. When you have reached the desired length of wristwarmer, then begin to follow the sleeve instructions as given in pattern, starting at the cuff. You may wish to omit the ribbing and go straight into the pattern. If the sleeve is worked in the round, begin working in this way after working the wristwarmer section.
MAKING UP
Sew the jumper up as usual, leaving the wristwarmer seams until last if worked flat. Try it on, marking a 5-6cm gap for the thumbhole and sewing the remaining end seams together toward the knuckle.
FINISHING
When sewn up, you can either leave the edges of the thumbhole raw, or finish with blanket stitch ( or a round of picked-up and cast-off stitches (
BLANKET STITCH
Using a tapestry needle and a length of matching or contrasting yarn, beginning on the WS of the work, take the needle through to the RS, leaving a long tail.
Take the needle around the edge of the thumbhole, and go back through from WS to RS again, this time coming up in front of the last stitch.
Repeat step 6 all the way around the thumb opening until the blanket stitch edging is complete.
PICKED UP STITCHES
Using matching or contrasting yarn, pick up and knit one stitch in every row in the thumbhole on each side, and join into the round. Cast off all stitches.